October sales gains lift hopes for housing market

Another disquieting note last week was a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association that a rising proportion of fixed-rate home loans made to people with good credit were sinking into foreclosure. It also found that 14 percent of homeowners with a mortgage were either behind on payments or in foreclosure at the end of September. It was a record-high figure for the ninth straight quarter.

And in areas where foreclosures have hit hard, housing remains depressed, despite low prices and mortgage rates and the tax credit.

Cleveland real estate agent Colleen Rock notes that the city's economy is still struggling with job losses. Another round of foreclosures could depress prices again.

"Just because we're stabilizing, I can't comfortably tell you we're back to a normal market," said Rock, an agent with Re/Max Crossroads. "It might be another year."

Yet for homebuyers with cash and access to credit, falling prices and low mortgage rates have proved irresistible.

Joey Wilson, 53, and her husband made unsuccessful offers on 20 Las Vegas homes since midsummer before closing on a four-bedroom, $136,000 home this month.

"It's insane," said Wilson, who relocated from Kentucky. "I've never seen a market like this before."